One of Donald Trump's biggest attractions is that he is a successful businessman, one who says he can apply business principles to reform the workings of government. Trump claims he can run the U. S. like he runs his businesses -- with attendant efficiencies and savings.

The Green Party offers Canadians a clear choice and fresh vision to get us working together again for One Canada for all Canadians. But all progressive voters must work together to take back Canada, a Canada that earns the admiration of the world for our innovation and competitive spirit.

Despite the whining by self-interested elites which has dominated the national discourse thus far, there is a silver lining to an extended writ. For many Canadians, it is a prime-ministerial present. Whatever your political stripe, take advantage of this extra time to make your vote matter.

Yes, our basic human right to live matters. The fact that our pigmentation is a target of death and destruction is a crime against humanity. We are in the midst of one of the world's longest -- and visible -- genocides. But what happens when we are no longer just treated like raccoons? The omnipresent pest of city streets, devoid of human dignity, one to be exterminated and only recognized upon our untimely deaths?

Attend an all candidate's meeting in your area, and ask what his or her stance is on GMOs. If enough people ask, they'll know that this is important to Canadians, and that their chances of getting elected will depend on where they stand on this issue! Together, we can make GMO labelling an election issue.

Many organizations and affected families across the country have been calling for a national autism strategy. The wide range in disparity of publicly funded services for autism across the country has even generated a kind of "medical migration" with several published accounts of families leaving their home provinces (most commonly, Atlantic provinces, Ontario and Quebec) to move to Alberta or British Columbia where autism services are more readily available and/or more flexible. It is also no longer uncommon to find Canadian families using crowdsourcing campaigns to fund their children's autism and related therapies.

In a Canada in which our current government has expressed undying loyalty to Netanyahu's regime, and where the opposition parties appear unwilling to publicly shame the government for its appalling disregard for the human rights of Palestinians, we cannot realistically expect the enactment of state sanctions against Israel any time soon. If the NDP wants to prove to Canadians that it is indeed the government in waiting, and that it's visibly different from the Conservatives, then we should all expect it to commit to taking action on this issue. Will the NDP, at the very least, commit to reforming CIFTA to exclude tariff-free imports of illegal Israeli settlement products

Liberal leader Justin Trudeau is right to say no to any coalition talks with the NDP. It's a con game by the NDP and one that would make voters punish the Liberals. For one thing, the Liberals and the NDP are very different on issues like the Sherbrooke Declaration and the Senate. Then there's the question who'll lead and for how long. A coalition also begs the question why should you vote if the second and third status parties are going to knock out the sitting government.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations have attracted considerable attention in Canada in recent weeks as the political consequences of dismantling agricultural protections loom large with a national elections scheduled for the fall.

This week, ministers from 12 countries representing 40 per cent of the world's economy will meet to discuss the Trans-Pacific Partnership, one of the largest trade agreements ever. As talks are rushed to conclusion, Canada is still fighting to have its supply management system excluded from the deal. We wish the government well in its quest to protect supply management, but we wish it would go to bat for other core Canadian values and industries. Unlike our European and even American counterparts, Canadian discussion on the TPP has been limited to chickens, eggs and milk.

Once you look under the hood of bitcoin you realize that there is an expiry date given the maximum limit of 21 million bitcoins that are "mined" in an increasingly expensive process presently done in massive mainframes the size of football fields. It is also true that the infamous website known as the Silk Road, which trafficked all sorts of illegal goods such as drugs and guns, used bitcoin as the main currency.

As news of your appointment and details of the process you will follow have spread, it has become clear that you will face extraordinary challenges in providing alternatives that enable each citizen to realize their own individual desire regarding the manner of their own death.

To debate or not to debate -- that is the question? Election fever has begun in Canada well before the election call. So much for the concept of a six-week election blitz. One of the issues floating through all of the talk is a push for a leaders' debate on women's issues similar to the televised one held on August 15, 1984. In 1984 few could imagine that a need would exist for another debate in 2015. Surely all of the issues facing women in Canada would be resolved by then! Sadly this is not the case. Canada, once a leader respecting advancement of women has slipped behind other countries.

A whole host of campaigns designed to advance the agenda of the fossil fuel industry have cropped up: Resource Works, British Columbians for Prosperity, Energy Citizens, Coal Alliance, Canadian Natural Resources Alliance, Pipeline Action, and many others.

In the wake of Sandra Bland's death, artists Kalkidan Assefa and Allan Andre painted a mural in Ottawa in remembrance. Less than 48 hours after it was completed, the mural of Sandra Bland was defaced with "All Lives Matter." Make no mistake, this is an act of white supremacy. #AllLivesMatter is a mantra of white supremacy that ignores history, social relations, power, and, most of all, the lives of non-white people. #AllLivesMatter is a mantra of peaceful multiculturalism that proclaims equality in the face of disproportionate violence against black and indigenous peoples, in particular.

Those sparkling Pan Am cars sitting unused in lots under the Gardiner were sparkling for a reason. Instead of collecting dust, these vehicles were treated to regular washes at Big Wax and Imperial Oil. Throughout the games, Pan Am vehicles can be seen regularly rolling through these same car wash facilities.

Elizabeth May has been at the forefront of debate ever since she was elected. There are now two elected Green Party MPs and the party is again fielding candidates from coast to coast to coast. Her exclusion from the leaders debates amounts to an outrageous affront to democracy.

We can't shut off the fossil fuel economy overnight, but the science clearly says that we need a real plan to leave fossil fuels like tar sands underground. Politicians need to stop treating this country like idiots and recognize that most people want an economy that's not dependent on the boom and bust of the oil cycle.

It's time to end this perverse nonsense, to put CBC television back on the rails producing objectively high-quality programs to serve audiences both as citizens and consumers, enriching rather than impoverishing their lives. We know how to accomplish this: the senate committee archives are stuffed with sane, solid suggestions, almost none of which showed up in the report released last week. Yes, it will cost some money, but what price do we put on the maintenance of democratic values, the spread of education, and the promotion of cultural literacy?

Last week the government announced the membership of the panel that will conduct the public consultation on Physician Assisted Dying. One of the questions they will have to answer are the very real concerns around how to protect vulnerable populations. People are classed as vulnerable when they are in a position of weakness relative to some other group who can wield power over them.